Chapter 281: Pay the price for fooling around (2/2)

After waiting a while, Chu Qingge couldn’t take it anymore. She bore the brunt of her pain and grinned as she said, “Han Yunxi couldn’t be trapped inside, could she?”

“Heheh, it’s about time. As this crown prince see it, this bodes ill rather than well,” Duanmu Baiye smiled coldly. Long Feiye and Aunt Ru ignored them both, though a flash of worry flickered past the former’s eyes. And yet, it was at this very moment that a figure emerged in the far end of the tunnel. As it drew closer, its outline grew clearer. This was none other than Han Yunxi. Long Feiye nearly rushed inside, but in the end, he didn’t. He simply stood in place to watch her.

Chu Qingge and Duanmu Baiye both found it almost inconceivable. They quickly walked over, only to be blocked by Long Feiye when his tall figure moved to fill the door. Duanmu Baiye was about to speak up when Chu Qingge held him back. Filled with confidence, she murmured, “There’s no rush. Wait and see.”

Han Yunxi could see Long Feiye from a long way off. For some reason, his lofty figure blocking the door looked indescribably lonely. By the time she reached him, he still refused to move aside. His oppressive figure somehow gave her a sense of security. As he lowered his head to gaze at her, those dark pupils were as deep as the sea. Han Yunxi was going to tell him to move, but those eyes inexplicably rendered her speechless. She lowered her head instead, and the two of them stood there in silence.

Long Feiye examined her quietly, eyes sweeping over every inch of her body to make sure she was uninjured. Finally, Chu Qingge lost her patience and asked coldly, “Duke of Qin, what’s the meaning of this?”

At her question, Duanmu Baiye broke into an icy laugh. “What, Long Feiye, you’re afraid to admit defeat?”

Long Feiye firmly stood his ground, allowing them to speak as they wished. He took his time to slowly inspect Han Yunxi as if to make sure he’d checked over every inch of her. Chu Qingge really couldn’t stand being cast aside and grew angry. “Long Feiye, are you shielding faults in public? It was Han Yunxi who said she’d duel one on one!”

Only then did Long Feiye turn to face her, catching Chu Qingge off-guard. She was stunned as soon as she met his cold stare. This was the first time! The first time Long Feiye was looking at her straight in the eye! No matter how haughty she was, her heart still beat fast. But all Long Feiye did was give her a cold snort before withdrawing his gaze and stepping aside from the door. Finally, Han Yunxi was revealed before the ground. Her clothes were neat and tidy, her hair smoothly in place. Those sparkling pupils and that faint smile showed that she was completely uninjured!

How could this be?

Chu Qingge could only gape. She didn’t believe it! Duanmu Baiye and Chu Tianyin were equally amazed, but their shock stemmed from a different reason. The two of them exchanged gazes as if they’d realized something. Han Yunxi easily stepped across the threshold of the stone door and smiled as she saw Chu Qingge’s bloodstained self. “It looks like Miss Chu’s been injured rather severely!”

“I’m not!” Chu Qingge still remained stubborn.

“Then have you lost?” Han Yunxi was still smiling as she asked. Now Chu Qingge had no reasons to keep being stubborn. No matter how light her injuries were, the fact remained that she was still a loser against Han Yunxi, who had no injuries at all!

How was this possible?!

Elder brother had said that all these five doors were filled with traps. It was impossible for anyone to escape them unscathed! Chu Qingge didn’t understand it, but here was Han Yunxi standing right in front of her eyes. She had no choice but to believe her, no choice but to stop acting otherwise. Chu Qingge couldn’t resist stealing a peek at Long Feiye, only to see him wholly fixated on Han Yunxi. His concentration was absolute in its persistent coldness. When Chu Qingge recalled Long Feiye’s soft snort back then, she couldn’t help but feel her heart break into pieces.

“Since you’ve lost, take off all your clothes first, then…” Han Yunxi was smiling in the beginning, but her face grew serious once she glanced at Duanmu Baiye. Coldly she said, “Then, you guys can get lost!”

But Duanmu Baiye simply flickered out of sight before pushing aside Han Yunxi to rush into the second passageway. If Han Yunxi could emerge uninjured, then that meant the second tunnel didn’t have any traps at all. In that case, Han Yunxi had been lucky enough to choose the right door! Chu Tianyin said that only one of these tunnels led to the treasury. Either it didn’t have any traps at all, or just contained commonplace pitfalls. It looked like the second door was the one they were looking for!

When Chu Tianyin saw Duanmu Baiye dart inside, a complicated look flickered past his eyes. But he didn’t hesitate, and dragged Chu Qingge with him before the two siblings disappeared into the tunnel as well. If the second tunnel was the way to go, then they’d rather violate their promise and throw away their trust instead of losing this chance! It was too important to them to find what they were looking for. This concerned the survival of their clan, while the existence of the treasury was just something to trick Duanmu Baiye.

Because Long Feiye was holding onto Han Yunxi after she’d been knocked aside, he didn’t have time to stop the trio. Once he was sure Han Yunxi was fine, he was about to give chase when she quickly held him back. “You can’t go in, it’s extremely dangerous!”

There was a dense swarm of black butterflies inside. If not for Lil Thing standing guard, anyone inside would be hard-pressed to get out. Even if they didn’t die, they’d lose half their lives in the process of escaping. What were Duanmu Baiye and the rest in such a rush for? Were they looking to die?